Automation college to boost process industry expertise

13 November 2008

Honeywell has launched its Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) automation college aimed at boosting the technical skills of process industry professionals in the region. Developed in part to address the industry’s current shortage of skilled professionals, the college provides process professionals – including plant operators, maintenance technicians, implementation engineers, system administrators and management – with tailored courses on maintaining a safe, reliable and efficient plant.

Honeywell has dedicated training centres in Abu Dhabi, Amsterdam, Brussels, Kuopio, Manchester and Prague, plus the capability to hold training at customer sites. Classes are taught in English, French, German, Finnish, Russian and Afrikaans. These courses enable students to learn to optimise the capabilities of their Honeywell systems, helping them to increase productivity, reduce errors and minimise downtime at their sites. The EMEA Automation College is integrated with other Honeywell Automation Colleges around the world, creating a truly global training solution for Honeywell’s customers and employees.

“One of the process industry’s foremost challenges is the shortage of skilled professionals,” said Norm Gilsdorf, vice president and general manager, Honeywell Process Solutions EMEA. “Although the workforce is maturing and there are fewer recruits, we do have the power to better nurture the talent we have. The Automation College covers every conceivable training need, from keeping employees current on the latest open systems technology to validating their capability to support ageing equipment.”

Enhancement Support Program (SESP). Co-developed with Honeywell customers worldwide, SESP gives customers a variety of options to help them manage, support, and fund their systems. By participating in the SESP matching program, customers can effectively double the effectiveness of their training dollars.
“The SESP matching program provides a compelling incentive to help companies deliver rigorous, comprehensive technical training to their employees,” concluded Gilsdorf. “With it, there’s simply no reason why employees shouldn’t be at the top of their game.”

Honeywell has also launched a Training Management System (TMS) for the EMEA Automation College, providing convenient online access to all course details and schedules, and also allowing students to check for availability and make reservations. The TMS also incorporates a database capturing personal training history and features automated prompts that notify students if their training certificates are about to expire.